Aperture High School (remastered)
by The.Pie.Is.A.Lie.Writing
Summary: Chell just got transferred to her new school. She quickly meets new friends, but also finds that this peculiar school has a lot more dark secrets than it lets on. And the Principal Gladys seems to have something to do with it too. What truly lies below the surface of Aperture Highschool? (rewritten from the old version of this story)
1. First day

Chell looked up at the building in front of her. The name of the school was set up with large black letters on the roof where it shimmered in the sunlight. The place looked brand new, the black and white panel design didn't have a single spot on it. It was a new school after all, not much older than a year or two. Aperture High School was the newest product of some vague company no one had ever heard about. But the school had become quite well-known in the area. The futuristic design noticeably stood out in the small town and it was especially popular because of the high-tech education it offered for a suspiciously small tuition.

Not many people paid any mind to this and simply took the opportunity to place their kids in an advanced but affordable school. After the first few months, Aperture High School had already exceeded the others in the region.

Somehow Chell's mother had found a way to get her in. But she was far from grateful.

Chell let a small sigh escape her lips. It was nearing the end of summer, but the sun still burned strong. She showed up in simple black trousers and a shirt that absorbed way more heat than it should, but she wanted to keep her appearance simple. The last thing she wanted was to attract attention. And it wasn't a nice day to get all dressed up for either.

She really didn't want to go inside, but she assumed showing up late on the first day wasn't going to be a great first impression. She had no other choice. With great reluctance, she climbed the little concrete steps up to the front door. As soon as she'd set foot inside, she got swallowed in the bustle of people. Most of them were around her age, all of them talking loudly, slamming lockers or running to some destination they were clearly not going to get to in time. It was a situation Chell didn't feel very comfortable in, but at least everyone was too busy with themselves that they didn't notice the new student.

Chell tried to find her way through the crowded halls towards her assigned classroom. It was a bit of a struggle, but eventually she got there. She was glad to find she wasn't the only one who was running late, as the teacher was nowhere in sight.

All her new classmates had already found themselves a seat, so she had to make do with the leftovers. She was slightly disturbed that the only seat left was next to a boy in the back. She would rather sit alone, but at least she wasn't up on the front. Chell made her way over towards the tables.

"Can… I?" She asked, her voice sounded a little hoarse and out of tune. It was so quiet she doubted the boy had even heard her until he looked up at her with two bright blue eyes shining behind a pair of glasses.

"Sure." The boy said cheerfully.

Chell sat down and quietly dropped her bag to the ground to shove it under the table with her foot. She found it hard to look up again with the way he was staring at her.

When Chell made no attempt to find eye contact, the boy decided that he should be the one to start up a conversation. ''I've never seen you here before. Are you new?''

Chell only nodded to avoid having to speak again. That sentence was more than she normally said to a stranger. The boy, however, didn't seem to have any problems with talking at all. ''I thought so, with you looking around all confused. It's alright though, I was a little nervous too, back when I was new here. It's quite a big place, isn't it? Oh, I'd almost forget: my name is Wheatley. It's nice to meet you.''

He held out his hand for her to shake it. When it was met with nothing but a stare, he used his hand to wave around in his messy hair. ''I-It's okay, I can understand if you're a little shy. Even though you don't have to be nervous around me. But it's understandable. But maybe you can give me just a name? Hm? A name is not too much to ask. I'll have to call you something. So how 'bout that? Just your name, don't need anything more from you.''

His smile fitted perfectly with his cheerful British accent. Chell tried to find her voice again, it was hard enough for her already. ''C-Chell.'' She managed to choke out.

''Chell? Is that your name? I like it, it fits you well. It's nice to meet you Chell.''

She gave him a small smile. But he continued as she reached for her bag to get out her new schoolbooks. He was quite the talker, that much she was sure of. But at least he wasn't one of those people who asked her all sorts of questions she'd rather not answering. He kept his word and held it with just asking her name.

Chell stared at the clock on the other side of the room. It was already a couple of minutes after the bell when the teacher finally entered the room.

''Good morning everyone, sorry I'm a little late.'' The blonde woman hurried over to her desk and practically dropped the load of maps she was carrying on top. With a sigh of relief, she looked around the classroom and her eyes fell on the girl in the back.

''I would almost forget to mention. Everyone, we have a new student with us today.''

Chell slouched in her chair as far as she could to hide from all the eyes in the room turning towards her.

''What is your name, sweetheart?''

She tried to make herself even smaller, as if that was even possible. She kept her eyes firmly in front of her and didn't say a word. Luckily Wheatley came to the rescue and got up from his chair. ''Her name is Chell. I know that, because she just told me.''

''Alright… thank you… Anyways, it would be nice if all of you could help her around today so she can catch up with the rest of us. Okay?'' She said in that teacherly tone.

No one seemed to give it any second thought after that, but Chell still wished she could disappear. As Wheatley sat back down, he studied her for a second, before motioning to her still closed textbooks. ''We're on page eleven.'' He whispered.

Chell grumpily opened the books and stared at the whiteboard. It took a good while for the anxiety to pass. She hadn't really listened to anything that had been said, not that she cared about the history of corn or whatever the subject was. She grabbed a new notebook and started to scribble in it. Wheatley curiously looked over her shoulder. ''Are you doing math? You know that's not the class we're in, right?'' His sudden whispering almost made her jump out of her skin. It was like she had forgotten he was there.

She just gave him a side glance before shrugging and continuing with her numbers. Math was the only subject she didn't feel like dying of boredom. Despite the average opinion of a lot of students, she could say it was the only thing she didn't despise in school. The equations were fun to her. It was almost like a puzzle. She had always loved it.

''Wow, you must be a super genius or something.'' Chell now fully looked at Wheatley who was aweing at her notebook. ''I mean, look at that. How do you even know what all those numbers mean? Do you like math? You must if you're so good at it.''

She looked away, a slight blush on her face. He might talk an awful lot, even after the teacher called him out multiple times to be quiet, but he was nice. Maybe there was someone in this awful place she might get along with. The loud school bell interrupted her thoughts and the whole class got up at once. She scrambled to collect all her stuff as everyone began to leave the room. Once she made it out into the hall, she had lost sight of Wheatley. Great, the only person she could've stuck with today was gone.

For the rest of the morning, she sat in silence in her classes. Apparently, he didn't have the same as hers, so she was alone.

Lunch was a little awkward. Chell felt very uncomfortable between so many people she didn't know. The auditorium was too much for her, as everybody seemed to spend their lunchtime there, so she decided to stay close to the lockers. There were still a lot of people there but at least she could hear herself think. Chell dropped her bag on the floor, pulled her flatten lunch packet from somewhere between her books and started to eat quietly in the corner. She had a nice view though. It was almost hypnotizing to see all people walk around and talk with each other.

Further up she noticed a man walking into the hallway with a trolley. It was stocked with cleaning chemicals and a mob. On the bottom part she could see some kind of mysterious box, covered by a blanket. Chell slowly took a bite out of her sandwich as she watched the strange man walk up to one of the corners. The white wall next to the lockers was violated by bright splashes of colored paint. Probably some kind of graffiti made by mischievous students. She watched him reluctantly scrub the wall clean. He must be the unfortunate janitor who was devoted to these kinds of tasks.

He dragged a soaped sponge over the once beautiful blue and orange artwork when suddenly he turned around towards Chell. She was frozen in place, afraid to move from his fixated look. They had some kind of stare-off, as his different pupil sized eyes didn't break contact from hers.

The stare down got interrupted when a girl suddenly jumped in front of Chell. ''Hello!''

She started at her in alarm, caught between a heart attack and being baffled at the girl's appearance. She was a little bit shorter than Chell, with slightly curled, brown hair and caramel, brown eyes. It was those eyes that caught her off guard. They looked very bright, as if they gave light of their own. ''You are the new one, right? I haven't seen you before. What's your name? Where are you from? Do you have any friends yet?'' The girl asked without taking a breath between her sentences.

Someone walked up behind her and stopped the girl's rambling by holding her hand around her mouth. She was taller and had glowing deep purple colored eyes. They seemed to have the same effect as the eyes of the other girl. She gave her friend a stern look before smiling calmingly at Chell. She must have noticed her distress. ''Hey there. Don't mind her, she is just very excited.''

The short girl said something to that, but it was muffled behind her hand.

''We noticed you in class before. You are new here right?''

Chell slowly nodded, still not over the sudden surprise of these two students.

''Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Morality and this is Curiosity. What's your name?''

_Morality? Curiosity? _Those were…. _Interesting _names. Chell nearly choked on the piece of bread in her mouth that she had forgotten to swallow when she tried to talk. It got a little giggle out of Curiosity who broke free from the hand silencing her as she couldn't suppress the urge to ask. ''Are you okay? Are you dying? You nearly choked! What were you trying to eat?''

Chell didn't have time to listen to her as she coughed the crumbs out of her windpipe. _Great first impression Chell,_ she thought to herself. The two girls still seemed to wait for an answer, so she made sure to sound at least a little bit decent when she spoke. ''Chell.'' That was all she managed to get out

''Well, it's really nice to meet you Chell.'' Morality said truthfully. ''We're having the same classes for the rest of the day. Do you want to sit with us?''

The question nearly made her choke again, only this time on her own salvia. No one had ever asked her that. She didn't know what made these girls even notice her at all. Maybe they were just being nice because she was new. Either way, she somehow enjoyed the idea of not being alone the whole day. She nodded in agreement. Morality clapped her hands together. ''Great! Our next class is this way. If we're early we can get the best spots, come on.''

She grabbed Chell's hand and dragged her along. She gave a short glance around the hall for that weird janitor, but he was nowhere to be seen and the wall was pristinely clean.

The upcoming few hours had been surprisingly fun. Her new friends were nice, even though they had their own sets of weird quirks. But Chell didn't mind since her lack of speech didn't bother Curiosity and Morality in the slightest. It was all she could've asked for to get through this boring school day.

After they finished their last class Chell walked together with Morality to put their books in their lockers. Morality came to stand close to her, looking around to make sure no one was noticing them. Then she leaned close to her ear and whispered. ''Some others and I are going to the city today. If you'd like, you can come with us.''

Chell didn't understand why she had to be so mysterious about that. But she had to decline for today and apologetically shook her head.

''Awh, okay. Maybe next time then?''

Chell slammed her locker closed and gave her a confirmative smile. They waved goodbye and Morality hurried off to meet her other friends. Chell simply walked out the front door of the building, feeling quite pleased with the way the day had turned out. It was nice to have some friends. She made her way over to the bus stop and heard laughter while passing the schoolyard. A lot of people spend their breaks there when it was warm enough. Now it was mostly empty except for a group of boys. They were laughing and she caught some of their conversation.

''Come on, talk to us. You were so talkative before.''

''He's probably scared.''

''I bet he doesn't even know how to talk _normally_.''

Laughter again. Chell frowned. Bullies. She could tell immediately. That poor person who was the victim of their harassment… But even though she felt some pity for the guy, she didn't have the time to do something about it. People should just come up for themselves every once in a while, instead of just letting themselves get walked over. Chell simply ignored them and continued on her way.

''Say _hello, _moron. Come on, you can do it.''

An all too familiar voice spoke up. ''… H-Hello.''

Chell stopped in her tracks. Wheatley. She could tell that British voice apart from any crowd. She huffed, she couldn't let her new friend be treated this way. Not while she was around. She walked up to the group, keeping her eyes focused on the form of Wheatley standing in the middle of them.

''Idiot.'' Laughed one of them and gave him a push.

Chell arrived just in time to see him sitting on the ground, tears at the edges of his eyes and the glasses on his nose at a weird angle. Chell pushed through the group. They gave her confused stares and she glared back. It made many of them turn their eyes away. She took Wheatley's wrist and pulled him out of the circle and simply walked back the way she came. The group stood dumbfounded as they watched them leave.

''And now you need a girl to come save you, moron!''

Chell shot a look over her shoulder that promised pain and most certainly death towards the person who said that, though it was hard to tell who it had been. Ignoring the wobbly walk in Wheatley's step she continued at her regular pace, eventually letting go of him as soon as the bullies were out of sight. Without another word, she walked over to the bus stop.

Wheatley was speechless for a moment before running after her. ''Oi, wait for me!''

Chell sat down on the little bench inside the bus station. She watched as Wheatley tiredly caught up with her and stopped, resting his hand against the side of the glass covering.

''I wanted to… to thank you. For helping me back there.'' He said shyly, ashamed that she had to see that. He heaved a sigh. ''It's just, you know, those fellows aren't really nice to me… I mean guys. Those guys aren't very nice.''

Chell frowned at that, almost judgmentally so. Wheatley stood their nervously before giving up on his act. ''Alright alright, I know what you're thinking. You're probably like: _why is he talking like that? _I mean, it's kind of stupid really, to try and hide my accent. I know. It's just, I was afraid you might not like me because of it…. I don't have many friends. Not any, actually. But then you came to sit next to me this morning. I felt so happy. You didn't ignore me or tell me to shut up. It was kind of _nice.''_

She gave him a genuine smile. She had enjoyed his company as well. Wheatley seemed to get what she meant, because that goofy grin of his came back. ''We can be friends if you want to.''

''Yeah.'' She said quietly, almost in a hush.

''Y-Yeah? Really? Oh, that's tremendous! Really it is.'' He immediately took his new position as her friend and sat down closely next to her. ''We can sit together in class and do… friend stuff. Oh though, I'm not sure if we have the same classes. I didn't think about that. But I am quite sure we see each other often enough. Which subjects do you follow?''

''T..n-nm…'' Chell fell silent. Her smile disappeared and her eyes dropped to the ground to stare her feet.

Wheatley noticed her sudden sadness. ''What's wrong? Are you sad because you have trouble speaking?''

She slowly nodded in response, ashamed of herself. Everyone thought she was weird because she didn't talk. They called her a mute and made fun of her. But she fought back. Then _she _ended up being the one who got in trouble and got kicked off of school. Chell sighed, that wasn't a pleasant memory.

But Wheatley wasn't like that. ''It's alright. I can understand… Well, actually I don't. Have no idea what causes you to not talk. But I don't need to know, of course. Might be something personal. You don't have to tell me. But tell you what, you don't have to talk to me _at all. _It's all fine, completely fine with me. I mean I talk too much, so I can talk for the both of us. We'll just find another way for you to communicate. Like hand gestures, nodding, maybe writing. How does that sound?''

Chell finally looked up at him, a rare smile on her features. She gave a single nod in agreement and Wheatley clapped his hands together in success. ''See, didn't even have to say a word. Understood you perfectly there… I think. But we'll figure it out, Love.''

She nodded again with a small giggle. Did he just call her _Love? _

''You'll have to hurry, otherwise you will miss your bus.''

Chell looked up at the vehicle coming to a halt in front of them. She got up and gave Wheatley as small goodbye wave. As she took a seat next to the window she noticed he was still standing there, waving his arms as the bus slowly drove away. Chell couldn't suppress another giggle.

The ride home was calming as she looked outside, watching the houses and trees pass by repetitively. It took up to thirty minutes before she got home. She and her mom lived in a cramped apartment at the edge of the city. She had moved quite a few times, but couldn't remember most of the places she used to live. It had never been anything special, but that didn't matter to Chell. She was just glad she had her own space together with her mother.

She opened the front door of the building and took the steps up two at a time until she got to the third floor. As soon as she got through the front door, the warmth and safety of her home embraced her. She kicked off her shoes by the door and made her way into the small living room where she abandoned her heavy bag.

The clicking of high heels came from the bedroom. Chell looked up at her mother. Caroline was rather tall with the high heels she always wore, matched together with a nice white dress and her dark hair falling over her shoulders. She looked a little older than she actually was, according to her it was from all the days of hard work she had been through in the past. But her eyes were soft, filled with warmth and love. It was Chell's favorite thing about her mother.

''It's good to have you home.'' She said, drawing her quiet daughter into a hug. ''How did it go?''

''Good,'' Chell answered as she squirmed from the embrace. Caroline was more than used to the way her daughter communicated. She was the only person she ever really talked to after all, but still, her answers were minimum. At least she felt like putting her in this new school was the right choice. Chell usually told her how horrible her first schooldays were, but she seemed quite content now. Maybe there was still a chance.

Chell grabbed her bag and dragged it towards her bedroom when Caroline stopped her. ''You promise me this year will go without problems?''

Chell thought about it for a second. She didn't really want to deal with any of this right now, so she just nodded. ''Promise.''

* * *

**AN:**  
**Hello everyone, it has been a long time. How have you been? I've been really busy being dead... on this account. But I am back. It's a true miracle. I stumbled upon my old writing pieces and BOY OH BOY. It really feels like such a long time ago I wrote Aperture High School. I was surpirsed at how much I still enjoyed my idea for the story and lo and behold, I wanted to rewrite it. My writing has improved a lot since then and I feel like I can do this story, and the fandom tbh, more justice now. I will be reusing a lot of the old story, but I'll rewrite most of it and add some extra scenes. Also this time I DO have an ending. Because the other one... doesnt. It never did. Which was a cute amateuristic fault on my part for not making a proper draft to begin with (I'm still an amateur, but a better one.) Now, I hope you will enjoy the Remastered version of Aperture High School. Please let me know your thoughts and critisism and whatnot in the reviews. They are always inspiring to read. Thank you very much for reading and I'll see you all again soon!**


	2. The Fight

The first day of the following week was a complete disaster. The morning had been fine, Chell had absolutely no problem with a double hour of math and the few other subjects she had. But it was the hour afterwards that everything went wrong.

They had to write an essay for English class. Chell had done her homework, that wasn't the problem. It was the fact that they had to stand in front of the whole class and read their work out loud.

Chell sat quietly at her table, trying to come up with a solution to get herself out of this mess. But it had been her turn quickly. She slowly made her way over to the front. The students stared at the awfully quiet Chell who just stood there, refusing to say a word. Impatient whispers began to spread around the classroom. It didn't take long for the teacher to decide to send her out.

She pretended not to care and simply left. And so she spent the rest of that lesson in the hall, staring through the window and watching as the others passed their presentation just fine. It wasn't fair. Chell grumpily crossed her arms and leaned against the wall to wait out her detention.

''Hey there, love. What are you doing in the hall?''

Chell looked up as Wheatley approached her. She just snorted in irritation and glared daggers towards the class she was kicked out of.

He seemed to pick up on what she meant. ''Are you in trouble?''

A shrug.

Wheatley wasn't sure what he could do to help her. He was free this period and had just been on his way to the auditorium when he found his friend standing in the hallway. There had to be a way for him to cheer her up. ''I could wait here with you. Maybe I can explain something to the teacher, so you don't have to talk.''

Chell shifted her feet as she thought about her options. It was nice of him; she really did appreciate the trouble he was willing to go through to help her out. But she doubted it would matter. This place was a hellhole.

Suddenly she turned to him and a devilish smirk touched her lips.

''W-what's on your mind love?'' Wheatley chuckled nervously.

Chell grabbed his hand and she took a sprint down the hall.

''Wait! Where are we going? I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to leave!''

They turned into another corridor and she pressed him up against the wall. Wheatley immediately shut up, not knowing what to think of the situation. Chell peeked around the corner. Nobody was following them. Nobody even cared that they were gone. She smiled back at her friend, who was shifting uncomfortably. ''I don't really understand what's going on.''

She pressed her finger against her lips, indicating he had to be quiet. Wheatley dropped his voice to a whisper. ''Okay okay. But seriously, what are we going to do? You could get in trouble for this.''

Chell's grin only winded when he said that. That was the whole point of it! There was no better feeling than getting away with something you shouldn't. It felt like they were no longer stuck to the rules of this place and could do whatever they wanted, and that was thrilling in and of itself.

''I'll be completely honest with you, I don't know how to feel about this.'' Wheatley continued anxiously. ''Are you sure we're not going to get in trouble?''

Chell shook her head reassuringly. After checking around one more time for any teachers, she left their hiding spot and continued on her way. Wheatley eventually came too when she beckoned him to follow her. She hadn't had the time to explore this school yet, being busy trying to catch up with the learning material and all. Now that there were very few people left in the building, since it was near the end of the school day, now was a better time than any to do so.

''Do you do this kind of thing often? Skipping class, I mean.'' Chell looked back at him with an amused smile. She hoped _good-boy-Wheatley_ wasn't going to think of her as some kind of rebel. ''I've heard that you must go to every class, or they'll do something horrible to you. I don't know what exactly, but I can only imagine the worst. It's actually bloody dangerous that we're doing this. We could die.''

Now hold up, that was a little too extra. Chell stopped and gave him a funny look. However, Wheatley didn't stop his paranoid rambling.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is it _true_? Are we going to die because we didn't go to class?!'' He wailed, misinterpreting her expression.

She shook her head repetitively. She didn't know where he got that idea from, but he seemed genuinely scared. It was kind of amusing. ''No? We aren't going to die?''

Another headshake.

''If you say so. I won't tell on you if they do catch me, I promise. Wouldn't want you to die. It's probably best if only one of us has to go. And I don't have to be afraid that you would tell on me, with your whole lack of speech and all. Oh, and because we're friends of course, didn't mean anything offensive by that.''

That just made her giggle. There really wasn't a time where Wheatley didn't talk, was there? She noticed the room they just passed by and stopped to backtrack. There was a small sign attached to the door that read: _Teacher's lounge_. That was just too good to be true.

''Honestly why would they tell me that, if it isn't that big of a deal to skip class? I mean, what if you're sick? Do you have to die then too? It's a pointless punishment if you ask me. W-w-what are you doing?'' Wheatley stopped in the middle of his sentence as Chell's curiosity got the better of her and she carefully opened the door.

"We are definitely not allowed in there. It says '_teacher'_, you see? That means you're unqualified… _Chell_!'' He hissed.

She couldn't see anyone. Good, that meant they were free to explore. She casually walked inside, followed by Wheatley who quickly shut the door behind them. ''You are absolutely mad lady. Brave, I'll give you that. But I am pretty sure they can, in fact, kill us for this.''

Chell didn't respond, as usual. But when Wheatley turned around, he understood why. There was a large black forest cake in the middle of the table.

''So this is what those teachers get for lunch? All we get is that stuff from the cafeteria.'' Wheatley shuddered at the thought.

She could definitely agree the cafeteria food didn't at all compare to a cake. Though she doubted this is what the teachers got every day. Or maybe it wasn't all that crazy, this school was bizarre after all. Chell walked up to the cake and took some of its frosting onto her index finger and put it in her mouth. It was delicious. She picked a bigger piece and held it up to Wheatley. He looked at it as if it was something disgusting. She insisted by booping the chocolate on his nose.

''Hey!'' He whipped it off but then couldn't help but laugh. ''Alright fine, if it tastes as good as you say.''

He took the piece of cake from her and took a bite. He swirled the fluffy stuff around in his mouth to savor the flavor. ''Man alive. This really is good.''

Chell smiled victoriously and took another, bigger piece for herself. Wheatley imitated her and took an even bigger part. It turned into a small eating competition where Chell ended up stuffing a hand full of cake into her mouth. She smiled brightly; her lips covered in chocolate frosting. Wheatley couldn't help but laugh at that.

They both froze when they heard footsteps in the hallway. Chell's eyes darted around in search for a place to hide, but there really weren't any they could both fit. They held their breath and listened as the footsteps walked past the door. Eventually the noise died in the distance. Wheatley let out a sigh of relief. ''That was too close for comfort. We should go while we still can.''

Chell agreed with that. She wiped the cake rests from her lips and carefully opened the door again, finding the hallway empty, and they snuck out.

"That was way too dangerous. We could've been caught, red handed. We're lucky there weren't any cameras in there." Wheatley complained.

Chell turned to him, a look of confusion on her face.

"Yeah, there are camera's everywhere in this place. And I mean _everywhere_. Even the bathrooms and outside as well."

Chell frowned and scanned the walls. They had cameras in this place? _Everywhere_? She understood that the school needed security, but that seemed a little overdone. And she was pretty sure putting cameras in private places was even illegal.

"But I don't think any of them saw us go in... I think. We should be fine."

That didn't make her feel any more comfortable though. This school was really strange. She just wanted to get out of here. She motioned to Wheatley to follow her and before he could understand what she wanted, she took his hand again and rushed down the hall. There had to be a place where there weren't any cameras or where anyone could see them.

"When I told you about all the camera's you'd think you would stop doing this kind of thing." She giggled mischievously at Wheatley's concern and went through another door they weren't supposed to.

''Chell stop, please.'' He panted. She let go of his hand and Wheatley immediately leaned on his knees for support. ''H-How much further do you want to go? There is nothing in here. And we can get into more trouble."

She ignored his pleads and ventured around the strangely dark space. There was a single window that let in a little bit of light, high at the top of the room. In the middle was a large metal tube with a single red button. The school had an elevator? That wasn't too strange maybe, it probably never got used because Chell hadn't seen anyone who would've needed it.

The rest of the room was rather empty, aside from a few boxes with supposedly cleaning products. There was a small trolley pushed up against the wall. Chell recognized it as the one that creepy janitor had been pushing around. She walked up to it and noticed the covered box at the bottom layer. She curiously pulled the blanket away, revealing a weird cube with pink, glowing hearts on its sides. She studied it momentarily before Wheatley begged her once again to leave with him.

"Can we please please please go? I really don't like this place.'' He took a step backwards and yelped when he accidentally turned on the light switch with his elbow. A single lightbulb lit up and revealed strokes of paint over the dull grey walls. It seemed to be a clustered mess of vibrant colors, flowing together in a waving pattern. They both stared at it in awe.

When Chell looked at it closer, she could make out different figures throughout the messy sketches. Dark people dressed in long white coats. They were gathered around some kind of large silver object in the middle of them. The picture flowed over into a disjointed wheel where stick figure drawings of children were playing between the pieces. But a big red eyed camera was glaring down on them from the corner. Red pen was scribbled through the drawing: _She's watching._

Below it, the paint dripped down and flowed into another picture. This one looked a lot less cheerful, where the colorful paint mixed into a combination of a black and white background. In the middle stood a woman, surrounded by a group of small children. But neither of them had faces. There was text written beneath it with white chalk. _Reality deceives them, but our eyes never do._

Chell grimaced at the pictures. They made her feel uncomfortable, though she couldn't tell why.

Both of them startled at the sound of the school bell ringing loudly through the halls. Wheatley took Chell's arm. ''We should really go.''

She complied and followed him to their next class, but looked back once more at the strange drawings they left behind. There really was something strange about this place. She tried to shake off the eerie feeling as they walked up to the gym class.

Wheatley was awfully quiet on their way there. And it wasn't only because of what just happened. Gym, why did every Monday always have to end with that? He hated it, but he tried to keep positive with the thought that Chell was with him this time.

Chell herself was quite the athletic. She jumped and ran around without getting tired fast. She loved sports as it was a hobby where she didn't have to talk. Her determination and great condition caused her to always score and win almost every game they played, much to the satisfaction of the teacher and the teams she got selected in.

Wheatley was the complete opposite of her. He was always the spare player who never had to swap. The one who always got chosen last.

But he was lucky, for once, that he had Chell. She somehow managed to convince her teammates to get him on their team. How she did it without words, he'd never know, but he was more than grateful for it. He was verily useless though, having no idea what to do and how to play. Chell was always going for the best options to make sure they won, but she tossed the ball over to Wheatley sometimes, giving him a chance as well. He hated it how he screwed up all of them.

He wanted to show her he could do it. That he was useful and anything but a moron. He was determined so.

But why did his last change at proving himself have to be with climbing ropes?

Wheatley watched as it was Chell's turn. She walked up to the thick rope that hang from the ceiling and climbed up without fear or shaking arms. She made it to the top without much trouble, touching the ceiling with her fingertips to prove so. A few people clapped and cheered for her as the student carefully climbed down again.

Wheatley snorted. He could do that, he had to. He had to prove he was strong too and not a weak moron like everyone saw him as. He took a deep breath, puffing his chest up like a penguin. _He could do it. Everyone could. It wasn't that hard. He could do it!_

He stepped forward. Looking up, the rope suddenly seemed much longer. But he swallowed away his fear and grabbed a hold on the rope. He pulled himself up, feet clamping around it. But no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't get himself higher. He lost his balance and fell on his butt on the floor. A few people chuckled, whispering mockingly to each other which made a few of them hold their breaths trying not to laugh.

Wheatley looked up at Chell. She was talking, or rather just listening, to a few other girls. She didn't even see him. He looked back up again. If he could just do it, if only he could just make it to the top, maybe then she would notice him. Everybody would. They would see he wasn't a moron and maybe they wouldn't bully him anymore. Wheatley frowned in determination and stood up again.

He grabbed the rope, swinging his feet around it and pulled himself up. Feet, pull, feet, pull, feet, pull. He was doing it! He was actually doing it! He was closer to the ceiling now! He was almost there!

But when he looked down to see if Chell was watching him, everything failed. The ground was suddenly really, really far down. Wheatley felt his grip weaken and before he knew what was happening, he was on his back with a dizzy feeling in his head.

A few people gasped before starting to giggle. Chell looked up and noticed Wheatley lying on the floor. Shocked, she rushed towards him.

''Ow.'' He groaned painfully. She stared at the rope. Luckily, he hadn't gotten very high before falling. Chell reached out her hand to help him up.

Wheatley rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head and stared at the gesture. He then noticed the looks he was receiving from the others.

''I can stand up myself.'' He huffed and pushed himself up, though his legs were shaking. He ignored it and pushed through the crowd of people towards the dressing rooms.

Chell watched him leave. She was slightly confused as to why he reacted like that, it was unlike him. It didn't take long before she entered the room with a wetted towel in her hands to see Wheatley sitting on a bench. He looked up at her as she threw the soaked cloth in his face.

''Thanks…'' He murmured and he pressed it against his head. Chell took a seat next to him. They were quiet for the longest time before she pulled his bag from somewhere on the floor and pulled out a notebook and a pen.

She scribbled on it and handed it over to him. _What happened?_

He looked away from her. ''Nothing! Nothing bad. Just hurt myself. A small injury. That happens a lot right? People getting injured with sports? Nothing to be concerned about.''

She shoved another piece of paper into his hand. _Friends don't lie._

Wheatley sighed. Friends really were honest with each other all the time, weren't they? At least they were supposed to do so, otherwise they weren't real friends. And he and Chell were real friends. ''I just… I just wanted to prove it. Prove that I could do all those things you did too. I saw you do all of that without a problem, no fear, nothing! I guess I just wanted to be like you, with climbing the rope. Not that great of an idea, I realize that now. But I just wanted to show you that I could do it. That there was something I was good at.''

_You're a good friend._

He looked up at her in surprise. ''You think so?''

''Yes.''

Wheatley's smile came back, his eyes twinkling with pride. He didn't think anyone had ever said something like that to him. She called him a good friend! She had _said_ it!

''Thank you.'' He finally answered, slightly blushing.

The gym class had ended by the time they got ready to leave. Wheatley told her he had to be home on time, so after their goodbyes he left. Chell didn't feel like going home just yet and found the perfect excuse to stay a little longer. She met Curiosity and Morality in the hallway and Curiosity practically jumped into her arms when she approached. ''Hey! Where have you been? How was your day?''

They giggled and had a small chat before sitting down somewhere in the auditorium. A couple of other people joined them, whom Chell had never met before. There was something special about them, something in the way they stared at her when Morality told them she was their friend. But they got used to her quick enough and joined in on the conversation. Suddenly Chell remembered she left her athletic shoes in the dressing rooms. She handed a quick note to Morality that she was going to be back soon.

When Chell got where she had to be, she found her shoes neatly placed beside the _lost and found_ bin. Somebody must have left them there for her. She quickly stuffed them in her backpack and rushed back to her friends.

She nearly bumped into someone when she rounded the corner to the auditorium. Chell looked up, only to lock gazes with two glowing eyes that almost looked yellow. She took a small step back from the woman. She looked young and beautiful. She had short, white hair that seemed to be perfectly brushed and styled. Not one hair was out of place. Her golden eyes were stern and stared into Chell's very soul. It fitted perfectly with her posture; tall, elegant and intimidating.

The woman rolled her eyes in annoyance and walked past the student. Chell watched as she walked away. Shaking off the shivers that were creeping over her back, she continued down the staircase. Her friends, who had seen everything happen, gave her a somewhat concerned look.

''Are you alright?'' Morality asked a little worried.

Chell just shrugged. Why were they so dramatic about this?

''That's Gladys. The principal.''

''She's really mean.'' Curiosity added with the most innocent tone like a little child.

''It's a wonder she didn't let you stay after school for the next month for just looking at her like that. Seriously, you don't want to get in trouble and get send to her office.'' One of the others commented.

Don't get in trouble with the principal. She'll have to remember that. Even though Chell usually didn't care and did whatever she wanted, this woman didn't seem like your average stern principal. It was better to just avoid any problems from now on. The school bell rang once more and the hallways started to fill up with the unlucky people who had classes until the eight hour. Time seemed to go faster than they'd thought.

''We should go back. We don't want to be late and get in trouble.'' Morality commented. The rest of her friend's group picked up their bags and continued their chat on their way out. Man, parents these days were really stern on their kids. Caroline usually didn't mind if Chell stayed longer, with the only condition she'd be home before dinner. But it wasn't going to be fun all on her own, so Chell decided to go as well.

She followed the rest out of the room when she noticed a group of people at the end of the hallway. They were the same guys from last time. Chell frowned, she swore if they were bullying Wheatley again she would-

''Poor guy.'' Morality said, shaking her head in empathy. ''He always gets teased by them. But it is probably best if we don't interrupt before they- Chell, where are you going?''

Wheatley was pressed against the wall by an older guy, his eyes were swollen with tears and his shaking body gave away his fear. He looked up with slight relief when Chell came into view though. The older boy followed his gaze and noticed the student behind them.

''What are you looking at.'' He growled irritated. When Chell didn't move he fully turned around, walking up to her.

''Well what do you want? Are you coming to save your little boyfriend again?''

The people around them chuckled. The group who were supposedly on Chell's side silently watched from a distance. The older boy walked into her face, trying to be intimidating. He pushed her so she had do a step back to not lose her balance. Chell didn't say anything and just stared back at him.

''Why ain't you talking little girl? Are you mute?'' He gave her another push against her shoulders what caused her to have to take another step backwards. ''If I were you I would just mind my own business and leave before-''

She slapped him. The boy chuckled a little, a grimace forming onto his features. ''Listen mute. I usually don't like hitting girls, but I can make an exception for you.''

''She's not a mute!'' Wheatley protested with a weak stutter.

''Shut up, moron.'' The older boy snapped.

That was enough insulting for now. Chell pushed him against the wall, much like he had done with Wheatley. But he wasn't that easily defeated. He grabbed a hand full of her hair, forced her to turn around and pulled her against his chest. He grabbed her wrists and crossed her arms, keeping her in a lock.

''What you gonna do little girl?'' Chell ignored him and stomped on his foot. He gave a yelp and she quickly got out of his grip. But before she could turn around to give him another slap across the face, he hit her legs from behind, sending her tumbling to the floor. Chell's head hit the ground and she felt her teeth biting into her lower lip. Metal tasting liquid dripped onto her tongue and nausea started to wash over her from where she'd hit the ground.

The bystanders formed a circle around the two and they began to cheer excitedly. ''Fight! Fight! Fight!''

The guy jumped on top of her and held her arms against the ground. Chell struggled and fought, but he kept her arms firmly pinned to the ground. She reached up her knee right between his legs.

He reached down with a painful grunt, which gave Chell just enough time to push him off her. She jumped onto his chest instead, burying her knees into his ribs so he couldn't get out of her grip. Now it was her turn. She slapped him in the face, and again, and again, and again. His nose started to bleed but she ignored it and kept hitting him.

''She's going to kill him!'' Someone yelled.

*_Slap_* for bullying Wheatley. *_Slap_* for calling her a mute. *_Slap_* for hitting her and *_slap_* for-

''What is going on here?'' A stern voice asked and everybody fell silent. The cheering died down as the crowd moved aside to make place for the principal. Gladys. She looked at Chell, then at the boy and back at her.

''Oh, it's you again.'' She sounded mildly amused. Chell met her gaze and didn't look away, even though those eyes were now glaring at her. ''Get up you lunatic. I think we need to have a talk in my office.''

But Chell didn't move and shot a stubborn look back at her. Gladys frowned, how dared that little human to deny her demands. She grabbed the student by her arm, who was a little shocked by her sudden movement, and pulled her off the floor.

''I said walk.'' Gladys hissed. She started to walk towards her office, dragging Chell along with her. The girl didn't try to fight her. She looked behind them instead, smiling triumphantly when she saw the guy she had just fought slowly standing up, a hand in front of his bleeding nose. Chell noticed her friends, including Wheatley, standing further away and her smile disappeared. They looked worried. Was she really in that much trouble?

Chell stumbled clumsily behind the white-haired woman, refusing to be escorted like this. But Gladys kept tightly holding onto the resisting student. Her arm was going to be bruised at the end of the day. A few people stared after them when they walked past, whispering confused to their classmates why Chell was getting pulled along by the principal like a misbehaving puppy.

Gladys' office was on the second level of the school. When they finally got there, she pushed Chell inside and immediately closed the door behind them.

''Sit down.'' She said sternly. Chell decided it was better to do as instructed and sat down on an uncomfortable chair. The windows were covered by curtains, hulling the office in darkness. The only source of light came from a computer screen on the desk. Chell watched silently as the principal took a seat on the opposite side of the desk, folding her hands together in a professional manner. They stared at each other, neither of them breaking eye contact any time soon. It was like they were trying to read each other, figuring out what the other was thinking. Gladys was actually really pretty, Chell noticed. Everything about her just looked perfect. Chell would've actually cared about those judging golden eyes if they didn't belong to the woman that was going to possibly expel her.

Eventually Gladys looked away, focusing her attention on the computer beside her. Chell shuffled about nervously, carefully liking the blood away that was still dripping from of her lips. Gladys looked her from the corner of her eye and noticed her split lip. She slowly pushed a small box of tissues towards her. Chell carefully took one from it and held it against the open wound, trying to stop the bleeding. She watched as Gladys went back to her computer, typing something on the keyboard. After she found what she'd been looking for, she leaned against the back of the chair.

''One week.'' Gladys sighed. ''You've only be assigned to this school for one week and you're already making murder attempts on the others. It's not like I couldn't have seen that coming.''

Chell arched an eyebrow. What was _that_ supposed to mean?

''It says it right here in your file. **Got kicked off five schools because of **_**aggressive behavior**__.''_

A smirk touched her lips which Chell found very uncomfortable. ''Hm, I like that in a person.'' Gladys mused. She glanced at the awfully quiet student for a moment, hoping to see some sort of reaction.

There was none.

''So what was it? What caused your little primate brain to lose control like that? Hunger? Fear? Or self-defense? Were you getting bullied?'' Her voice sounded fakely sweet, like she was some kind of therapist who was trying to ask something from a three year old.

Chell nibbled at her lower lip, opening the wound again and tasting the blood that dripped into her mouth.

''Problems at home? Depression? Some other mixture of emotions? Or are you really just a cruel monster that tries to murder people?''

Chell frowned, shaking her head rapidly. What was she on about?

Gladys leaned on the desk, her head resting in the palm of her hand. She stared at her again, studying her in almost a dreamily way. ''You really are a mystery, aren't you? You dangerous, mute, pathetic, murderous little lunatic.''

Chell swallowed, trying to find her voice. ''I'mmmm…. n-m.''

''Oh look at that, it can talk. I was starting to worry that you were suffering from brain damage. You're full of surprises.'' She sat up right, finally dropping the game of sarcasm. ''Now that we know that, I expect an explanation for your behavior. And try to use full sentences this time.''

Of course, Chell could've told her the truth. She could've explained that she was just protecting Wheatley, that it was indeed self-defense, in a way.

But why would she? It wasn't like it would make a difference. In all those years and five different schools Chell had been through, no one had tried to help. Especially not the principals. And it didn't look like Gladys would be any different, probably even worse. Definitely worse. She had been insulting her moments ago! She was not going to be any help for Wheatley and Chell was not going to trust her either.

So she just stubbornly shrugged in response. Gladys didn't seem one bit pleased with that.

''Very well then. I suppose I'll have to speak to your parents about this instead.'' She wasn't particularly happy about that. She hated talking to parents. ''I expect both you and one of your caretakers at my office tomorrow at four. Now leave, I have more important things to do.''

Chell's eyes winded. Caroline was going to be furious. ''No.'' She suddenly spoke up in protest.

But Gladys held up a finger, shutting her up. ''Hush, you lunatic. I don't care what you have to say, you're too late. Now get out.''

The student pursued her lips. No, she couldn't just…she was…_why?_

She abruptly stood up, giving the chair a kick from behind so she could squirm from between it and the table.

''Don't slam the door behind you.'' Gladys called after her as she left the room.

Chell slammed the door shut as hard as she could.


End file.
